Members of the Augustinian Order in Indonesia have expressed joy and deep gratitude following the election of Pope Leo XIV, remembering him as a humble, prayerful, and approachable leader during his years as Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine.
Sr. Felisitas, OSA, an Augustinian nun from the Ketapang community in West Kalimantan Province, recalled meeting Fr. Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, on two occasions before he became pope.
“Once in London in 2010 during the so-called annual event World’s Augustinian Youth Encounter (AYE) and another one in Sydney where I could sit in the same table as during a winter day we together sipped our coffee,” she told LiCAS News from Pontianak.
“It was indeed a memorable moment — a precious one for me personally — as I could get in touch with this hospitable Augustinian top leader,” she added. “Despite his position as OSA Order’s top leader but also as an American, he is a person with strong hospitality, always with his smiley face. For all Augustinians across the world, he is indeed a man of prayer.”
Sr. Felisitas, a member of the native Dayak community, noted that Fr. Prevost, during his tenure as Prior General, maintained a leadership style free from rigid formalities.
Sr. Ignatia, the chief of the Augustinian Sisters in the Indonesian Province, expressed her joy upon hearing the news of his election: “I am very happily thrilled to learn about that our former top leader has been becoming Pope Leo XIV.”
In Papua, Fr. Jan Pieter Fatem, OSA, head of the OSA Vicariate “Totus Tuus” in Timika, echoed the same sentiments. “He is a man of prayer and a simple person,” he said, speaking ahead of the episcopal ordination of Msgr. Bernard Baru, OSA, the second native Papuan bishop.
“Pope Leo is indeed a true Augustinian person. Community life has always been carried out with huge enthusiasm which echoes good religious life and communal spiritual to our Augustinian colleagues,” Fr. Fatem said.
Fr. Fatem described him as a simple, wise, and compassionate figure who listens well—widely regarded within the Order as a living example of Augustinian spirituality.
Fr. Johanis “Yance” Mangkey, MSC, relayed that Msgr. Bernard Baru remembered the former Prior General’s 2003 visit to Indonesia, including stops in Sorong and Manokwari to observe pastoral and educational missions in West Papua.
Sr. Felisitas also recalled that a planned visit to Ketapang in 2018 was cancelled after Fr. Prevost was unexpectedly appointed by Pope Francis as Apostolic Vicar in a remote Peruvian diocese. He was instead represented at the Asia-Pacific Augustinian Conference by Fr. Tony Banks, OSA.
